By Lewis Loflin
At 12:00 AM EDT, April 1, 2025, I’m analyzing abstractions—then and now. The Church’s promises and today’s vague claims like “systemic racism” serve power, not truth. My Deist lens, rooted in reason, exposes this recurring strategy.
Paul’s teachings—filtered by the Church—laid the groundwork for abstraction. His emphasis on faith alone (Galatians 3:11) drew God-Fearers—Gentiles following the Noachide Laws, avoiding full Jewish conversion—into Christianity. By Nicaea (325 CE), this evolved into a doctrine of deferred salvation: endure suffering, blame Jews or the devil (Ephesians 6:12), gain reward after death. Elaine Pagels’ *The Origin of Satan* shows Satan shifting from a Jewish figure to a Christian weapon against dissenters (John 8:44), a political construct, not a spiritual reality.
This abstraction absolved personal effort—Romans 5:12 (sin’s origin) tied to Genesis, not Jewish ethics—serving Rome’s need for control. A cohort of 470 troops escorted Paul (Acts 23:23-24), signaling his value to imperial order. The Church amplified this—hope deferred (Romans 5:5)—to maintain power, not foster piety.
Today’s abstractions follow this template. “Systemic racism” is asserted—broad, unmeasurable—yet evidence challenges it. My findings at https://www.sullivan-county.com/news/c28.htm reveal Texas spends $10,000 per pupil, Massachusetts $20,000, with nearly identical outcomes for Black and Hispanic students. Suspensions, often cited as bias, mirror crime rates—behavior drives results, not vague prejudice. If “bias” were decisive, doubled funding should shift the numbers; it doesn’t.
Abstractions like “bias” deflect from individual conduct to a flawed society, demanding control and funds to “fix.” Real causes—family dynamics, personal discipline—require effort and threaten entrenched power, so they’re ignored. Progressives replicate the Church—offer “equity” as an empty pledge, not action. Wealthy proponents keep their riches, as Rome and the Church once divided theirs (*Codex Theodosianus* 16.2), blaming “systems” rather than selves, echoing ancient scapegoats—Jews, the devil.
I reject abstractions for reason. Arian monotheism offers a clear God, not Trinitarian haze. Pelagian free will demands accountability, not afterlife promises. Science—evolution with purpose, not chance—grounds my view. Paul’s legacy, reshaped by the Church, and today’s progressive rhetoric both prioritize power over substance.
The Bob Jones University focus at https://www.bju.edu/—Paul over Jesus—reflects this enduring shift.
Section updated, added 3/30/2025